Borrego Springs CA– At first light this morning, two fixed wing aircraft and one ground search crew from the Civil Air Patrol began to search the area of the Anza Borrego Desert for the missing airplane from September 19, 2014. One of the Civil Air Patrol aircraft located the missing airplane in a remote area of the Anza Borrego State Park.
The missing airplane appeared to have crashed and was lying upside down. The area it was located in is commonly referred to as the “Borrego Badlands” and is very desolate. The Civil Air Patrol aircraft guided the ground search crew into the area of the crash via radio.
One member of the ground search crew located a deceased adult male near the wreckage. Deputies from the Sheriff’s Rural Division and the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue were able to drive to within approximately one half mile of the crash site. They hiked into the area to secure the site and later escorted personnel from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office into the area to conduct their investigation.
Sheriff’s A.S.T.R.E.A. was summoned and they recovered the body for the Medical Examiner’s Office. The body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office for examination and they will determine the cause of death. The Medical Examiner’s Office will also notify the next of kin.
The F.A.A. and N.T.S.B. were notified and they will be responding to the crash site tomorrow (09/21/14) to conduct their investigation.